And while Southgate, who gave Bennett his debut at Middlesbrough, believes the 23-year-old is progressing well, he also added he needs to become more reliable defensively.

“I’m pleased to see he was brave enough to leave,” Southgate said. “It was a big decision for him, he grew up at Middlesbrough and a lot of boys from the North East don’t like to leave.

“Personally (I think) it was the right time for him to move on and it would be great experience for him.

Gareth Southgate

“I wasn’t sure how much he’d play, he’s possibly played more than he thought he would when he arrived. That’s great, it’s a year’s experience under his belt

“He’s always been a player better with the ball than without. That’s an area of his game he’ll want to work at. He’s always been courageous enough to take the ball. That’s what I liked about him as a youngster.

“I remember the game we were relegated at West Ham, I put him on at half-time because I felt he had the courage to go out and play. It shines through in his play.”

That was in May 2009 and the first of 92 games Bennett played for his hometown club, which earned him a £2.75m move to Villa last August.

Bennett played 25 league games in his first campaign and few would quibble with the quality of his delivery. But matches such as against Norwich at Carrow Road revealed shortcomings in his positional play.

Which led Southgate to urge caution. “I saw a Premier League player in him but I didn’t think it would be as quickly as it’s happened,” he admitted.

“I thought he would be a Premier League player but, in my view, he’s not there yet, he needs to play 100 games for that. It’s very easy to play a couple of games and say ‘I’m a Premier League player’. The fatherly instinct in me says ‘not yet’ but he’s on his way.

“If he has the mentality he showed when I was managing him he’ll want to keep improving and progressing and take the next challenge on. That’s been really pleasing to see.

“Don’t assume you’ve made it. Every game and every season your reputation is on the line. You are always going to progress higher up or fight the challenge of new people arriving or younger players coming through. There is never a season where you can coast.”